During our 75th anniversary year, we are proud to celebrate our past, present, and future. Through sponsorships of innovative programs and events, we lift up the collaborative nature of our community today, and look at ways we can help build an even stronger community for tomorrow.

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Meet the innovative central Ohio organizations poised for an exceptional year of growth & progress.

More than 7,500 Columbus Museum of Art goers viewed the works of Jacob Jordaens, Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, and other famous artists during The Big Explore.

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Thank you, Columbus! You made The Big Explore an historic day filled with excitement and discovery.

Thank you, Columbus! You made The Big Explore an historic day filled with excitement and discovery. Thank you for working with us to create a strong and connected community.

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On January 22, Columbus’ True Originals celebrated those in our city working to expand the horizons of Columbus through groundbreaking, orig…

Numerous community members were recognized during the launch of Columbus’ True Originals at The Columbus Foundation on January 22. Honorees included: Jeni Britton Bauer, founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams; David Brown, founder, Harmony Project; poet Barbara Fant; Opera Columbus and ProMusica’s World Premiere production, The Flood; author Wil Haygood; Dr. Mark Lomax II, composer of World Premiere, 12-CD work, “400: An Afrikan Epic”; and the community members behind the Save the Crew effort.

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Taking a ride through history!

More than 4,800 visitors checked out the many cool exhibits at Ohio History Connection during The Big Explore, including Following in Ancient Footsteps, a look at remarkable archeological discoveries in Ohio, and 1950s: Building the American Dream, an exploration of United States culture and society after WWII.

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Jeni’s CEO John Lowe, COSI President and CEO Frederic Bertley, PhD, and COTA President and CEO Joanna Pinkerton share the amazing attendance…

On December 29, 2018, The Big Explore helped over 55,000 people explore the city with free admission to COSI, Columbus Museum of Art, Franklin Park Conservatory, National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Ohio History Connection, Pizzuti Collection, and the Wexner Center for the Arts. In addition, Columbus adventurers could travel for free on COTA and finish the day with a $.75 scoop of ice cream from Jeni’s! Jeni’s CEO John Lowe, COSI President and CEO Frederic Bertley, PhD, COTA President and CEO Joanna Pinkerton share their biggest take away from The Big Explore: friends and families exploring the Columbus together!

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Exploring the Wexner Center for the Arts!

Nearly 1,000 people visited the Wexner Center for the Arts during The Big Explore on December 29, 2018. With the exhibit Michalene Thomas: I Can’t See You Without Me, and Tommy Becker’s part video poem, part music video Mix Tape (from Tape Number One), visitors learned about the vision behind the works.

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Jeni’s helped bring smiles to The Big Explore!

Columbus adventurers stopped by Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams during The Big Explore to refuel with a $0.75 scoop of ice cream. Jeni’s gave out a company record of more than 9,500 scoops of ice cream in one day in central Ohio.

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In celebration of the 75th anniversary of The Columbus Foundation, community members gave a reading of “Freedom’s Plough” by Langston Hughes…

The Columbus Foundation celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding on December 28, 2018. To commemorate the event, Governing Committee member Dwight E. Smith and 11 other community members and partners gave a collaborative reading of Langston Hughes’ 1943 poem entitled “Freedom’s Plough.”

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75 years ago, local visionaries, led by Harrison M. Sayre, joined together in the spirit of hope and aspiration to establish The Columbus Foundation. Since then, our donors have been catalysts for change, and their collective generosity has helped shape our strong, connected community.

HARRISON SAYRE

“The best way to extend your life is to give to the community.”

HARRISON M. SAYRE

Seventy-five years ago, a group of passionate citizens, led by Harrison M. Sayre, envisioned a way to improve the community and quality of life in central Ohio. With little more than this sound idea and faith, The Columbus Foundation was established in 1943.

OLGA ANNA JONES

In 1944, the first unsolicited gift of $25 was given to the Foundation by Olga Anna Jones, a teacher, editor of the Ohio Women Voter, reporter for the Columbus Citizen, and Columbus’ first city councilwoman. Today, the Foundation serves as the trusted philanthropic advisor to more than 2,500 individuals, families, corporations, and nonprofit organizations.

MY SPECIAL WORD

“I want to reach as many children as I can in as meaningful a way as possible. It’s not just broad, but it’s deep. I want kids to get so excited that they want to tell their stories to others.”

Dwight Smith

The premise behind the My Special Word program is simple. Teach children about the importance of positive, encouraging, inspiring words—and have them choose a word that describes them. Dwight Smith developed the program, and established the My Special Word Fund, Donor Advised Fund with his wife, Renee.

COLUMBUS YOUTH FOUNDATION

“Since its initial founding in 1955, investing in opportunities for kids to have fun has been a primary goal of the Columbus Youth Foundation.”

Cathy Lyttle, Chair of CYF.

Established as the first Supporting Foundation of The Columbus Foundation in 1976, the Columbus Youth Foundation has awarded more than $4 million in grants to help young people attend summer camp, participate in recreational activities, and engage in athletic pursuits. It makes a difference in the lives of youth from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Columbus by providing healthy, positive opportunities to learn life lessons through recreation and sports.

GIRLS ON THE RUN OF CENTRAL OHIO

“We teach girls how to take care of themselves, each other, and be active participants in the well-being of their community through learning social emotional life skills and participating in fun physical activities.”

Jess Sparks, Executive Director of Girls on the Run of Central Ohio.

In 2017, Girls on the Run Central Ohio established an organization endowment fund with The Columbus Foundation to help ensure lasting sustainability for their nonprofit. “We knew we were heading in a direction where we needed to invest our reserve,” Sparks said. “We had built that reserve over those early years, and we need to have two seasons of all expenses should we hit a hard time.” Girls on the Run of Central Ohio reached the milestone of its 10th Anniversary in 2018 and has served over 10,000 girls since the organization’s local inception in 2008.